Valle de Angeles

Valle de Ángeles was a silver mining town in the colonial period and was restored in the 1970s as a craft centre, which is what it still is: cobbled streets, white walls and red tile, a square with a church on it, and a very large number of shops selling woodwork, leather, ceramics and textiles from across Honduras. It sits at around thirteen hundred metres, so it is cooler than the capital, and it fills on Sundays with families out from Tegucigalpa.

What you actually see

• The craft shops - woodwork, leather, ceramics and textiles from across the country.
• The restored centre - cobbles, whitewash and tile around the main square.
• The church - the colonial parish church on the plaza.
• The Sunday crowd - Tegucigalpa families out for the day, which is the town at its liveliest.

When to go

November to April is the driest. Sundays are the busiest and most alive; weekdays are quiet and some shops close. The altitude keeps it pleasant year-round.

Honest expectations

The restoration is thorough enough to feel staged, and much of the craft on sale is made elsewhere and brought in. Prices are higher than at source. It is a half-day out from the capital rather than a destination.

Nearby

Santa Lucia is on the same road, and La Tigra National Park is north.